GunBugBit

I saw a video by Phoenix Trinity that says it's critical to have oil on the locking block to prevent breakages.

Got an email from Atlas saying the gun is back from coating, awaiting quality checks, final assembly and test fire. Shouldn’t be long now.

I float my support hand thumb slightly away from the frame. I know some like to have it touching the frame and I used to do it that way. I found it distracting to try keeping the thumb in consistent contact with the frame as the gun cycles. Having tried it both ways, I’ve found thumb away from frame works better for me.

Yes indeed, very interesting. I watched a YouTube video of an open shooter whose locking block cracked in the middle of a USPSA stage. Phoenix Trinity fixed it, for no cost I imagine. This wouldn’t keep me from buying one. Things can break even on the best made pistols.

To have some .40 rounds on hand when the Nemesis comes, I ordered and received some Precision Delta 180gr jacketed RNFP. They’re supposed to average 950fps, for a PF of 171. The rounds are loaded long. I measured a few and they’re between 1.180” and 1.185”. This is just the type of load the Nemesis should like. I’ll use them for zeroing the sights and getting a feel for the gun.

I’ll never be a top competitor so the razor’s edge of hit factors doesn’t occupy my thoughts much. I’ve shot 8 round .45 major SS and minor 9mm with 10 round mags. I find just the two extra rounds makes it more enjoyable. Also it could be because my 9mm 1911s are higher quality than the .45s. If I were younger with more years of competing in front of me and aspirations of doing well in big matches, I’d shoot major in SS.

Hmm, that makes me think, maybe I should have explored the kidney-for-primers program.

Picked up 20,000 primers recently. Should be good for a while.

Single Stack shooting is going pretty well. I didn't shoot matches for over a year and got back into it shortly after the start of 2022. My latest USPSA hit factors haven't been spectacular but I could tell my fundamentals were getting more solid after a month of dry/live practice and a few matches. A couple of light bulbs came on technique-wise that I was hoping would show up soon in a match, and they did. I'd not shot any Steel Challenge for two years so I signed up for a Sunday match and had my all-time best total time in one match, with several all-time best stage times (Accelerator, Pendulum, Speed Option, Roundabout (79.31% - all-time best percentage in any shooting game)), and now stand 6.5 seconds away from A class.

Thanks for that data yelpspoon!

I did a bit of research into the Phoenix Trinity Honcho - visited their web site, watched some YouTube videos. Fascinating and impressive innovation! The Race Ready model looks very compelling.

The rail wasn't a hard sell, for the reason RangerTrace points out. Happy for you ksullivan!

The Atlas Nemesis chambered in .40 S&W that I ordered will be coming earlier than expected so I'll be reloading for it soon. I've reloaded .45 ACP and 9x19mm but not .40 S&W. I ordered 180gr Black Bullets. I have a lot of CFE Pistol on hand that I'm not currently using. For a CFE Pistol load, I'm thinking I'll start with: COAL: 1.19" 5.2gr CFE Pistol Crimp: .423" From what I gather, this might come in slightly below the floor of major. From there I would work up (or down?) until the slowest velocity in a group of 10 is 934 fps or just above, going for 168-170 PF. That's my thinking at the moment. Please be so kind as to let me know if you load .40 major similarly, and what I might want to tweak.

CHA-LEE's advice is what I would go with.

Ha ha yes I do know this is pretty good luck. Pretty excited of course.

Just got a call from Atlas. They asked me if I'm sure I don't want a tactical rail, because if I'll accept a gun with a tactical rail, they have one near completion that meets all of my other specs that will be available in three weeks. So I said yes, I'll take the tactical rail.

No I didn't happen to look into that gun.

...I decided I want the option to shoot major or minor with the same gun. So I just ordered an Atlas Nemesis in .40 S&W. I'll shoot this gun with minor loads for Steel Challenge and certain practice/fun matches, and of course major for USPSA Limited. Now the wait begins.

Have NEVER SHOT this classifier, have only dry-fired it. Will live-fire practice it this coming weekend. I know if we ever see it at our local matches, the grumbling will be non-stop.

No, I'll run out of primers if I continue live-fire practice on Saturdays and Sundays and a USPSA match on Mondays and can't replenish primers. I check local Bruno's Shooter Supply periodically, was able to get some primers a couple of months ago.

Joined nearby Cowtown range which helps tremendously with live fire practice. No more trying to find spots in the desert. Instead, I can reserve beautiful shooting bays at a great facility and practice properly, as much as I have ammunition and energy for. Only shooting Monday night USPSA matches for now. No big goals this year, just want to be out there in the match environment, enjoying the people and the overall experience.

We all know that great speed without decent accuracy loses, and great accuracy without decent speed loses. Is it a toss-up? The people I've seen progress up the classes the fastest have been speed-obsessed. Based on that, I'll lean toward speed being more important.

I smoke cigars separately from shooting matches. Cigar and cigarette smoke outdoors don't bother me.

I hate cold hands for shooting but fortunately I only deal with that occasionally due to the climate where I live. Sometimes I've had the opposite problem when the temperature here is 115+. An all-steel gun can get too hot to comfortably hold. It's not enough to actually burn my hands, but there's pain and pain is a distraction. At the least the fingers work well, unlike when they're cold.

Production and Single Stack are great divisions to build fundamentals. I stick with Single Single due to my love for the 1911.